It may be easy to talk about saving money, the hardest thing about it is the doing part.
I do not claim to be the best when it comes to saving money, but I do have some trick up my sleeves. Here is some money saving tips that I have personally experienced and applied throughout the years:
1.) Be electric consumption conscious - Considering that electricity cost is very expensive nowadays, this is probably one of the best money saving tips I could offer. By simply monitoring your electricity consumption, you could save a lot of money. All it takes is turning of appliances and lights that are not in use. Other measures include shifting to energy saving light. What we personally do is that we turn off our electric water dispenser and our refrigerator during the night time. Buying new home appliances certainly helps reduce electric consumption. It is a well known fact that new home appliances are more energy efficient than old appliances which enables you to save electricity in the long run. Our bill went down by almost 25 % when we started becoming more electric consumption conscious.
2.) Save loose change - Mom has taught me several money saving tips, but I believe this is one is the most important one she has taught me. At first collecting loose change may seem insignificant. But when it starts to grow, you will realize it’s value. At one time the loose change I saved amounted to more than P 10,000.00. ($200.00 U.S plus)
3.) Recycle - More than 3 months ago I started implementing this new program. I started to collect plastic, glass bottles and containers. I now have 4 sacks of recycable materials and I will be selling them by the end of the year.
4.) Not buying from the convenience store - Filipinos have commercialized “convenience stores” but we also have our small scale convenience stores called “Sari-sari” store. This is your friendly neighborhood store where you go to when you run out of shampoo or cooking oil. This may be all right if you badly need the stuff. But if your everyday needs in the sari-sari store you might end up spending more than you expected. It is expected that sari-sari store are more expensive than the grocery stores as they have already added some profit to their selling price.
5.) Eating out less - Most financial experts would say that this is one of the best among all the other money saving tips. Bringing lunch from home definitely helps cut down the expenses. Frequently eating in restaurants is sure to empty your pockets. If you are in the habit of consistetly satisfying your gastronomic cravings by trying out new restaurants try to schedule your restaurant visits.